I made made my every 3 year journey to getting a new computer this week- something I always approach with angst. Windows computers and networks are not stable by their nature and changing them scares me. However, my desktop had become so unusable in the last 6 months that it was time to upgrade. I really had no choice. I enlisted the help of my client, Lisa Singer at Singer Networks, which eased the burden. The Dell dual core is the way to go coupled with the 24 inch widescreen monitor. It’s heavenly.

But, then it was time to reformat and reinstall Windows on my old computer so I could pass it on to my wife since hers (the slowest in our house) was a boat anchor. I successfully reformatted the hard drive and loaded Windows XP. Unfortunately, not all of the audio and graphics drivers loaded. I did not have the disks and it was time to call Dell Computers. I could feel my stomach churn inside.

I dreaded the idea of talking to someone in India at their support facility who had no idea what they were doing. I was surprised. Through remote control technology, they were able to look at my computer and upload the appropriate drivers (scary but it worked). The best part was that even though the computer was out of warranty by 3 years, they help me for free “this first time”.

As a customer service policy, this made sense to me. I had never called them on this computer and I liked the policy that they would help me the first time I called when it was not in warranty but would charge me for future times. I considered this excellent customer service- help me know, warn me that they would need to charge in the future.